Blanking apparatus for wheels



Feb. 2, 1932. G. E. sMrrH 1,843,905

BLANKING APPARATUS FOR WHEELS Filed Oct. 11, 1929 fSheets-Sheet 1 Ummm? v I I l WW I l |||||l|i 'l A Y I Y /ulllllnz3 58% 46 #om ze 2% 53 24 m1' I l .g1-.w f6 TQ, ,I4 l l e? v f5 50 0 i? f vZ3 lb v I i nl if 'f ,f 44 Z9 331: 1 L 3g w l I/ 441g? y 44 M4' .HH ZZ r Ni Z0 Mill f afm/'253% f A- BY i I Feb. 2,1932.

G.` E. SMITH 1,843,905

BLANKING. APPARATUS FOR WHEELS 7 Sheets-Sheet 2" Filed 0G11.. `1l', 1929 4 @i l 2; gf 5%;2 2?

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BLANKING APPARATUS FOR WHEELS FledvOct. 11, 1929 A'7 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR Feb. 2, 1932.. G. SMITH 1,843,905

v BLANKING vAPPARATUS FOR WHEELS Filed oct. 11, 1929 fr sheets-sheet 4 lll'llll" l ZZ e? 53, 70

|I A. I I1 l l y Y l 52 5 il 4M 14% if i774 g5 55536 47f/75 49 INVENToR d A QRNEYS Feb. 2, 1932. G. E. sMlTH 1,843,905

BLANKING APPARATUS FOR WHEELS Filed oct. 11, 1929 'r sheets-sheet 5 5i "il ff 46j INVENTOR Feb. 2, 1932. G. E. SMITH 1,843,905

BLANKING APPARATUS FOR WHEELS 7 Sheets-Sheet 7 Filed OCb. ll. 1929 INVENTOR Patented Feb. 2, `1932 erre ST1 GRANT n. si/iirii, oF PoUGHKEnPsiEiNnW Yo'nK, AssIGNoR 'ro ijoUvaiLsMi'rii oonroiui'riomor Poneiiirnnrsin, NEW YORK, e Aeonroiazi'rioN or New YORK BILANKVING: Arrennrvs vFon n WHEELS' Appiieafion med 'october ii, i929. serial No. 398,868.

This invention relates to a moldingV means andv in particular-relates lto a means for blank-ing spoked Wheels from loose, bulky material. An object ofthe invention is the 5:? provision oi' improved means for this'service.

Y VIn'the molding ofwheels I` have sometimes heretofore used a moderately dense material such as Wood or fibrous sheet llaminas which' was reduced by about half. its original volume ll in the molding operations. For this Work a single mold' may be made with suiiicient depth to perform the required compression. Such a mold may also be conveniently Varl 'anged to apply the necessary heat' for molding. f i

For a molding,- operation of this sort the material' must be preliminarily shaped toa:I

conform quite closely to the shape ofthe inal mold. When Wood is the material used, it must be-savved, bent or built up toconform. When fibrous laminas is used -it must be Wound into tight rollsor assembled in blanks or blocks to conform. When rubber or simiwhich are laid in the mold or Wound about a core. 'f

rthere Were a number of expensive operations 3u v l molds. With iibrous laminee, the Winding or other forming` operationsvvere expensive and entailed the loss of much of the material as scrap. Sometimesas much as a third of theV b, -material was lost inthis Way. The forming- Way to use material of heterogeneous shape and size such as chips, shavings, dust, pulp, chopped sheets and the-like. 'This material in its very nature is muchmore bulky and l must be compressed Athrough a much greater" range of size than material heretofore used. It is Within the range of possibility-to'inake a, H single heated press of suiiicient depth and stroke to make the linal wheel from such mw fw lar material is used'it isusually cutintostrips When Wood or similar material was used' 4to get out the blanks ready forvplacing in the loading To avoid these diiiculties I have found terial inioiie-operation butl have found that great economies may be effected and a better wheel produc-ed by making the Wheel in twoy molding operations. lIn the first operation fthe material is compressed and formed or blanked to conform to the outlines of the final mold and in the second operation' this blank is further compressed and cured'under heat and pressure to form the Vfinished Wheel. y

Herein is disclosed' apparatus intended to perform the first operation; This apparatus is designed to operate rapidly, effectively and economically and to Vproducefa blank which is homogeneous and uniform in all its parts. Y

lnmaking a reticulated molded structure such as aspoked Wheel, problems are encountered which are not foundV ingmolding solid articles by reason of the fact that in a reticuv lated structure care -must be exercised not only: to make the parts suciently strong Within their own-length but to make the connectingj'oints between the several parts sufieiently strong. The present` apparatus has proved'successful vtothese ends. In a copendlv ing` application, Serial NumberBQSO, iiled October ll, y1928 'the method of making' Wheels with this apparatusV and the blank formed thereby is described and claimed.

The nature and objects of the" invention Will be better understood from .a description oi an illustrative embodimentof the invention When considered in connection With the accompanying' drawings thereof, in vvhich:

Figure lk is a front elevation of the assembled press, shovvingone container or pot -be tween the ram and head ready for compressingrv and the otherpotisvvungroutvvard Figure -2 is aside elevation; lFigure 3 isa top plan view;

Figurel is a vertical sectiontaken on line 4 4 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a similar section but taken With i the compression stroke completed;

Figure 6 is a horizontalsection taken on lineG- of Figure t;

for

Figure 7 isa vertical section of the container when partly lilled;

Figure r8 is a similarvievv after reinforcement and a hub iller have been inserted;

Figure 9 is partial vertical section taken slightly behind the plane of Figure 8;

Figure l() is an enlarged horizontal section on the line 10-10 of Figure 9; and

Figure 11 is a horizontal section taken on line ll-ll of Figure 4.

Referring to Figure l of the drawings, the apparatus comprises a hydraulic cylinder 20, a ram in the form of a platform 2l actuated by a piston working in the'cylinder` and a head 22 connected to the cylinder 2O by tension rods 23. One or more containers or pots 24 is slidably and swingably mounted on the rods 23 by bearings 25 provided with arms 26 supporting the containers upon trunnions 27. ln the present apparatus there are two containers convenient for the use of two operators-one on either side of the machine-but more or less containers may be provided if desired. Collars 28 rigid with the rods 23 limit the lower position of the containers so they will swing clear of the top of the platform 2l when down. To assist the operator in swinging the container, a handle 29 may be pivoted at 30 to allow it to be raised to a horizontal position.

In Figure 4 the container assembly comprises the container 24 proper and a plunger 35 which is movable through the container cavity 36. As seen in Figure 6. the cavity is in the cross-sectional shape and size of the wheel blank to be formed and includes a rim portion 367, spoke portions 36s and a hub portion 36h. The portions are divided to form the reticulated blank by spaced sectors of metal 34 secured to the bottom of the container. The plunger 35 likewise has the cross-sectional shape of a wheel blank and closely fits the container cavity, having corresponding rim, spoke and hub portions.

The rim portion 3511 of the plunger is made quite deep to take the heavy pressures imposed and the webs 35s joining the rim portion and the hub portion 35h are likewise made deep and sloping at the bottoni edge for greater strength. rlhe hub portion and the inner ends of the spoke webs are secured to a central plunger rod 37, which lits in an enlarged bore in the container. rfhis central construction amplv supports the hub portion and inner ends of the spoke portions of the plunger but if the depth of the rim portion is not such as to give it sufficient rigidity it may be supported between the spoke webs by auxiliary plunger rods 38 secured to a basev plate 39 to which the central plunger rod is secured. Holes 40 are provided in the bottom of the container to slidably receive the rods 38.

The plunger is secured to the container by bolts 42 attached to the base 39 and slidably passing through ears 43 Von the container. A spring 44 embracing the bolts 42 and pressing against the base and ears distends the container and plunger tending to keep the plunger in the bottom of the container cavity. A nut 45 on each bolt limits the separation of container and plunger. By adjustment of the nuts against the springs the normal space in the container cavity above the plunger for the reception of moldable material may be varied to suit materials of dilferent varieties and various degrees of compressibility. For very light loose material oflarge volume the nuts may be let ofi1 to place the plunger in the very bottom of the container cavity toaccommodate the maximum volume of material; for denser material the nuts may be taken up to raise the plunger in the cavity to take a smaller volume of material.

Cooperating with the container when it is swung in the press, is a mold 46 secured beneath the press head 22 in alignment with the platform 21. The mold has a cavity 47 which comprises a rim portion 471, spoke portions 47s and a hub portion 47 7L which at the lower edge exactly correspond to the size and shape of the cavity in the container. The mold cavity is rounded at the bottom somewhat and the side walls slope slightly to assist ejection of the wheel blank from the cavity after compression. ln case the wheel is designed to have an aXial extension the mold cavity is made with a corresponding hub depression 47 e. Likewise, if the wheel is to have a hub cavity, the plunger is provided with an extension 350 to form the cavity.

Means is provided for accurately registering the container cavity and mold cavity when brought together. yThis comprises an end-tapered dowel 48 on one (the mold as shown) and a conical-mouthed hole 49 in the other.

Means is provided for ejecting the wheel blank as a unit from the mold cavity after compression therein. As shown in Figure 4 (see also Figure 11), an ejector plate 50 is mounted in slots 5lv in the head 22 and is provided with a plurality of ejector pins 52 judiciously scattered over the ent-ire area of the cavity so as to press evenly on all parts of the blank. As seen in Figure 1l the mold is united to the head across the plate at numerous places by solid metal spacers 53.

Disposed across the plate is a bar 54, also movable in the vertical slot, and rigidly attached at its protruding ends to acuating rods 55. The rods at their lower ends pass loosely through holes in brackets 56 secured to platform 2l and are provided on their ends with nuts 57 below the brackets. Thus the platform is perfectly free to move upward without acting upon the rods and ejector plate but comes against the nuts 57 to carry the plate down with it near the end of its return stroke. ln this construction the ej ector pins and plate are moved upward by material being compressed in the mold cavity A blank is formed. j 61 is placed in a well 62 formed in the hub 651m@ win in the snai when @anse su parades K vided from the cavity but do not offert-any :appreciable obstruction thereto Vsuch Vas would cause the pins tomake holes in the blank because vthere is very .little Y Weight on the pins at this time. The'whole this weight is objectionable, lift pins 58 may be attached tothe platetoy be engaged by the top surface of the container just before the container comes against the mold tolift the ejector plate and pins before any materialV isl pressed into the mold cavity.v

To prevent material which 'may get past the plunger from collecting' in the bottom of the container cavity'to restrict theretraction of the plunger, vent holes 60 may be prothrough the bottom of the container;

Ordinarily it is desirable to form a hub bore through the wheel for attachinoa it to a shaft.

For convenience this bore is formed when the F or this purpose a hub pin portion h of the plunger.v A light spring 63 supports the hub pin to normally hold it in elevated position but there is a very Vslight friction between the pin and the well surface so that the pin will tend to remain in whatever position to which it maybe moved by the operator. f

The operation of the apparatus, in case ,A the wheel is to be made of `uniform thickness 35' and density of rim, spokes and hub, without hub cavity or Ahub extension, and without reinforcement, is as follows: The container beingl swung out and empty, the `operator j j pulls the hub .pin 6l up to the position shown in Figure 7 and places aconical pin 64 having, if desired, lift knob 65 into a4 hole (36in the upper end of the hub pin. The conical pin aids .in inserting material into the container cavity.-L 1

The operator then takes enough loose material to form the wheel and pours it into the wheel cavity, spreading'it evenly with his hands. rPhe loose material may be kpoww dered, shredded, chipped or in anyform SufB-- 50- ciently small or flexible to'be pushed into the cavity. Herein, the term conglomerate is used to denote loose compressible material of any size or shape suitable for easy introduction into the reticulated container cavity and Without any .ordered arrangement, i. e., helter-skelter.TIK Y r Preferably if 4material such as wood pulp, sawdust, shavings, eacelsior or powdered, comniinuted or shredded paper, fabric, board or like material is used itis rstsaturated with an adhesive, such for example, as va phenolic condensation product adapted 4to cure under heat and pressure to a hard, polished, waterproof body. Such' an adhetainer. y

thereof to adhere to forma rigid strong wheel and vwill also form a smooth surface thereover. f

. Having filled the container cavity, the operator lifts 'the handle 29 and swingsthe contai-ner assembly into positionl between -the platform and head-mold, astopmcmber of any desired kind being employed, if desired, to secure accurate positioning.

Hydraulic Vpressure is v.thenadmitted to cylinder 20 byway of inlet (and outlet) opening 67 (Fig.` 4l) to raise the platform 21. lWhen the platform comes against the plunger base 39 vof the container assembly it first raises the whole assembly-due to ther strength of springs 44 distending the container and plunger-until the top of the container isk 46. As the container approaches the mold its upper surface engages the lift pins 58 to 'zoV raise the ejector pins from the mold cavity.

No material is pushed out of the container in this movement. As described, dowel 48 vinsures accurate registry of container and mold: cavities. Y

Thereafter. additional hydraulicpressure is let into the ram cylinder .to force the plunger through the. container cavity to compress all of the material into the mold cavity to form a homogene-ous, integral, one-piece or monolithic wheel blank'vvhich in cross section is slightly smaller than the finishing mold so as to be insertable therein. The upper end of the hub pin 61 or some part borne by it entersahole 70 in the center of the.mold tohold the pin vertical so that the wheel'bore will be accurately located and iso' no material will be squeezed through the hole 70.' The pressure is high enough to consolidate the material depending on its nature being .in some cases 10,000 pounds per square inch or over. j

After full compression, the hydraulic Huid is exhausted andthe ram retracted. The

wheel blank remains in the mold cavity until the ram has practically completed its withdrawal. Y Then the'weight of the platform comes upon the ejecting pins as described above to 'press the' blank evenly and without V damage from the mold. Theoperator may catch it in his hands and lay it on top of the container after it is ejected. It might be marred ifl allowed to yfall freely. l

rlhe container is then swung out., the blank removed and a new VThe'linished blank `is thereafter placed in a heated mold under high pressure and finished. The final mold thus does not need to have a 1 very deep cavity ysince the blank is pre-compressed. Further than this, no assembling of parts in or building up forthe final mold is required since the blank has been completely `formed previously.

Incase portions of the finished wheelvare charge placed inthe c on- 1 to'be deeper than others, more material-may be placed in the blanking mold for those portions. One way of doing this is for the operator to pack the loose material down by hand in certain portions of the container cavity. T his is usually required for the rim and hub since they are usually thicker than Vthe spokes. Where a very deep hub (or other portion). is required, a pre-compressed filler may be used. Such a filler is used in the blank made in the press illustrated. It is best shown in Figures 4f, 8 and 9, where it is referred to by the character 72. The reason for these steps will be obvious when it is remembered that all parts of the plunger travel through the same length of stroke, and the normal tendency is to compress all portions of the wheel blank equally.

In case reinforcement is desired in the wheel, a portion of the loose material (about half as shown) is placed in the container cavity, then the reinforcement is put in, and then the Cavity is filled to the top over the reinforcement. The reinforcement illustrated comprises an annular rim ring 731, spoke rods 738, a hub bushing 74 and a hub ring 7 371,. In placing this wheel assembly in the container, the conical pin 64 is removed when the container is half full of loose material and the bushing placed on the top of the hub pin 6l. The bushing will have the hub ring placed thereon and, whe-re the rim ring, spoke rods and hub ring are a unit as here, the whole reinforcing frame is placed on the bushing at once.

Then a cylindrical headed pin 75 is inserted through the bushing into the bore of the hub pin 61 and the hub pin and all parts carried thereon pushed down against the light spring 63 until the reinforcing frame rests on top of the loose material in the cavity. Care, of course, is taken to see that all the reinforcing parts are spaced -sufliciently from the container walls so as not to be eX- posed or to lie near enough the surface to mar the appearance of the final finished wheel. It is one of the advantages of the present invention that dislocation of the reinforcing can be detected in most cases in the blank which assures a greater percentage of perfect finished wheels. The pre-formed hub filler piece 72, which is suitably shaped and notched to fit the bushing and spoke rod assembly, is then put on and the cavity filled to the top.

From the above description it will be seen lthat the press effects a great economy in the art by reason of forming a complete wheel blank in a single operation from loose material, avoiding all pointing, forming up, winding or the like and avoiding all waste of material. Not only is immediate waste in the process avoided but it is made possible to use some waste material in a plant which would otherwise be h ard to make use of. In practice the invention has tremendously reduced costs and speeded up production.

:The use of a press of this kind which permits the use of loose material assures better placing of moldable material in the corners and spaces about the reinforcement which gives a better bond and hence a stronger wheel.

While one embodiment of the invention has been particularly described, yit isto be understood that various changes and modifications may be made within the scope ofthe subjoined claims.

What I claim is:

l. A blanking press for making spoked wheels comprising in combination, a pot or container having a deep cavity in the shape of the nal wheel including connected rim, spoke and hub portions, a plunger of the same shape as said cavity positioned in the bottom thereof, a plurality of plunger rods associated with said plunger to support it at several points and adapted to pass through said pot cavity, a plate for actuating all of said rods, bolts supporting said plate on said pot, springs normally separating said plate and pot, a press ram, a press head aligned therewith, tension rods to take strain between said head and ram, said tension rods normally supporting said head apart from said ram by a distance greater than the distended length of said pot and plate, hinges supporting pots and related parts on said tension rods, said hinges providing movement of pots into alignment with said ram and clear of the same and also longitudinal movement with the ram, a molding cavity in said head. a reciprocable ejecting member in said head having a plurality of ej ecting pins entering said head cavity, and lost motion rods connecting said ram and said ejecting member whereby said pins are pushed through said molding cavity to eject the blank when the ram fully withdraws.

2. A blanking press for making spoked wheels comprising in combination, a pot having a deep cavity in the shape of the final wheel including connected rim, spoke and hub portions, a plunger of the same shape as said cavity positioned therein, a central plunger rod and a plurality of surrounding plunger rods associated with said plunger, a plate associated with the outer ends of all of said rods to actuate them together, means holding said plate and pot in separated relationship, a press ram, a press head aligned therewith, means supporting said pot for movement from'a position between said ram and head and a position clear of the same, a molding cavity in said head, a reciprocable ejecting member in said head having a plurality of ejecting pins entering said head cavity, and means for operating said ejecting member when the ram withdraws for ejecting the compressed wheel blank.

3. In a press for molding spoked wheels in combination a container, a plunger itting therein, a mold registering with the cavity'of said container into Which loose material placed in the container is to be compressed, an

ejector provided with spaced pins entering the cavity of said mold, other pins positioned to contact With the upper face of said container outside of the cavity thereof for removing said first mentioned pins from the mold cavity When the mold and container are.V brought together whereby the ejecting pins do not act upon the material until after it has been compacted.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my Y name to this specification this 4th day of Oc-` tober, 1929. v Y

GRANT E. SMITH. 4 

